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Help Grandpa Get a Lung Transplant

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April, 2016:  Due to the sudden, rapid deterioration of his lungs, my brother, Neil Kaiser, needs a lung transplant. He has passed preliminary screening and has been accepted for more medical tests, so that he can be placed on the transplant waiting list. There are many obstacles in the path ahead, including trips back and forth from his home in Spokane, Washington, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, followed by a long stay in Los Angeles after the transplant surgery.  Cedars-Sinai is the nearest qualified hospital to consider Neil for the lung transplant.

Neil and his grandchildren have many more mountain adventures on their bucket list, including four-wheeling, hunting and fishing, berry picking, watching wildlife and birds while admiring mountain scenery from historic fire lookout towers. Being Grandpa to Brenden (16) and Emily (14) is most important to him.  Being able to enjoy his fiftieth wedding anniversary with his wife Vicki, and his kids, James and Neil’s daughter-in-law, Jamie, and Holly is very important too.  Neil is a wonderful grandfather, husband, father, brother, and friend to many farmers in the Fairfield community where he worked for 25 years as a grain warehouse foreman.  Brenden and his Grandpa are great buddies and do many things together.  He is happy to support Emily’s soccer team who call him Grandpa.

Right now, a lung transplant is Neil’s only option for a healthy life.  He is extremely restricted in his activities and must use oxygen all of the time so, other than the necessary medical trips to Los Angeles, he has to stay close to home.

Neil, Vicki, and Nita Voliva, our sister who is a retired nurse, met the Cedars-Sinai transplant team in Los Angeles on April 4th for the first time.  At that time he underwent several medical tests, and they were introduced to the transplant team members.  The team coordinator called Neil the next day to let him know that he was accepted as a potential transplant recipient. 

Now Neil is beginning the serious medical, physical, and emotional process to be placed on the UNOS list (United Network for Organ Sharing) for new healthy lungs.  Vicki and Nita will be with him every step of the way. 

They need to return to Cedars-Sinai in by July for more intensive studies over 5-7 days to make certain that his organs are all in good shape so that his survival potential is positive. Depending on the outcome of these studies, he will be given a Lung Allocation Score. This score estimates the severity of each candidate’s illness and his or her chance of success following the lung transplant surgery.  Then the real waiting period begins. This waiting period for a suitable donor may be very short or it may take longer, up to a year or more.

In the meantime he will need to return to Cedars-Sinai every three months until the transplant to reevaluate his condition.  After the surgery Neil, Vicki, and Nita will live in L.A. for another 3-6 months for follow-up care and frequent monitoring.   

I, Lynn Guy, along with my husband, Richard, and the rest of Neil’s family are asking for any help you may be able to offer Neil with the unexpected costs for transportation, housing in Los Angeles, and any not yet known medical expenses.  Neil and all of us are thankful for any support you are willing to share.


Organizer and beneficiary

Richard Guy
Organizer
La Quinta, CA
Vicki Kaiser
Beneficiary

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